Environmental Assessments & Reviews (NEPA)
Many community improvement projects rely on public grants or private funding to assist with project costs. When federal monies are used, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) generally requires an evaluation of environmental impacts associated with the project. Tribal governments, private lenders and other entities frequently will also require such an assessment. DEQ’s Office of Business and Regulatory Affairs (OBRA) coordinates environmental impact reviews for areas under DEQ jurisdiction.
When a request for an environmental impact review is received, OBRA consults with DEQ’s air, land, water, and local services divisions to identify environmental issues and regulatory requirements that should be considered during the project. Once our review is completed, OBRA will send a response to the requestor summarizing our findings.
Submitting a Request
Requests should be emailed and include the following information, at a minimum:
- Project name.
- Brief project description, including year of construction for building renovation projects.
- Project Location. GPS coordinates are greatly desired. Other location information, such as street address or section/township/range, may also be included. GPS coordinates do not have to be surveyed. Coordinates from DEQ’s Data Viewer, Google Earth, or a similar source will be sufficient. Decimal degrees to five places are preferred, rather than degrees/minutes/seconds.
Maps, project drawings, or other visual reference material may be included and will frequently assist us with our review.
Our review and response are based solely upon the information submitted. We make every effort to provide a response via email within two weeks of our receipt of the request.
Jon Roberts
Senior Manager
Office of Business and Regulatory Affairs
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
(405) 702-7111